Hat.



J. GAVANAGH.

HAT.

APPLIOATIOH FILED FEB. 1, 1912.

1,053,973. Patented 11911.25, 1913.

wfhwooeo W( v gime/w10@ #MMM u j @2122 V220/ym? JOHN CAVANAGH. OF NORWALK, CONNECTICUT.

HAT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 25. 1913.

Application filed February 1, 1912. Serial No. 674,809.

To all ttf/0m 'it may concern Be it; known that l, Joux C.\v.\N.\on, a citizen of the United States of America. residing at Norwalk, in the county of Fairfield and State of Connecticut. have invent-` ed new and useful Improvements in llats. of which the following is a description.

This invention relates to both.v soft and stitt' felt hats and other articles which require a finished edge, which are made by felting fur or fiber: and has for its objects: 1st. To make a finished edge on the brim of a hat. or other article., which will be a superior substitute for the edge. made b v biliding with a narrow strip of silkor other fiber. 2nd. To eliminate the Stitching now required when the edge is turned after the sizing is complete, which are liable to come out or break, and thusl destroy the etfect: and in place thereof. to make a folded felted edge which holds the brim in better condition, giving greatly improved weariiig` qualities. 3rd. To make an improved felt hat or other article.

ln making stitl' Derby felt. hats.l for example, a cutv edge shows the shellac, and shows white. l eliminate the edge, by felting it into the brim, both in stiff hats and in soft hats.

My invention may be usefully illustrated by the drawings made part of this specification, in which- Figure l shows a hat body from the cone after it is given several rounds in the Sizing cloth, to give it stability sutl'icient to handle and to hold a turn, and may be about 18x90 inches in size. Fig. 2 is the same hat body after the edge has been turned over and one row of stitches is run in to hold the edge folded to the body, and is not cut parallel to the line of stitches, though it may be. Fig. 3 shows the same hat body sized to the proportions required for a liuishcd hat. whereby the folded edge is felted into thc brim and becomes part of the bodv. whether the stitches have been'drawn out before the sizing and felting iS complete, or remain in the edge and become part of the felt. Fig. 4 is the same hat bodywith the edge folded over and felted into the brim, but is.,in addition. sized, blocked. and flanged, ready for trimming by applying the hat band. sweat band. lining. tip, labels, and the like. or any of them. Figs. 5 and 6 are my improved hat finished and trimmed ready for the market.

A is the hat body.

-l is the fold at the edge.

C is a row of stitches holding the fold llat against the hat body, in order that the told may be felted into the hat bodv bv further sizing and felting. i

D is the natural edge. or the cutv edge of the hat body. which partially or wholly disappears in the body ot' the hat by the time the sizing and further felting are complete: and in good factory practice this edge requires no cutting after the stitches are run in to bring the edge of the hat body into parallelism with the line ot' stitches: but this edge l) may be cut parallel with the line ot' the stitches it' the natural edge is not substantially parallel with the stitches without cutting.

A hat body is formed upon a copper cone perforated with small holes. within which is an air exhaust pipe. the whole located in a elo-sed chamber with glass windows, into which. lult outside ot' the cone. the hatters fur or wool. asthe case may be, is blown in a cloud on a current of air. in which the copper cone slowly revolves. The air is exhausted from within the cone. thus depositing the fur or libel' on the outside of the cone in a thin sheet. evenly. fiber matting upon fiber. until the requisite thickness of the hat body is obtained. it is then about thirty inches long and cone-shaped, and is removed from the copper cone for further treatment.

ilat bodies begin asa felt cone direct from the copper cone. about thirty inches long. the walls of which are very thin. but the t'ur or fiber matted together. The sizing consists in taking the hat body from the hot water bath onto the plank. one or several hat bodies packed fla-t together and then rolling them up in a cloth. and rolling them back and forth. with pounding upon the plank until the tibers creep together and the fabric thickens and lshrinks. until it reaches the size ot' the tinishcd hats. but still in thc shape ot' a cone. as .shown in Fig. 2i.,

'lhc hat body from the cone is delicate and may be easily pulled apart. and thus dest roycd: but that it may bc handled without injury. it 'is first given several rounds in the sizing cloth. Giving it stability sutlicieht to hold a turn. and is thcn in the condition and of the size shown in Fig. l. The edge is then turned over and one row ot' stitches is run in to hold the edge folded on the body as in Fi The edOe ma then be cut with g e y reference to the line ot l titehes. and iS then i returned to the iziug plank. where the hat hody is l i'/,vd in thv ueual way to the proporf tion V required: and in this l izin`1. the fold is trmlv t'elted Into the hrun and hevomes integral therewith through and through, no

lvnn'vr Idunviutr. exevpt ohsvurely. the origil nal edge ot' thv hat hotly. hut only a thivk envd edge. having` all the qualities of a fold. 1

Before thv ixing ia eomplete. the lQtitvhes vome part of the felt.

llitherto. it hasl nvvvr hvvn thought posl .slhle that a hat vould he tormvd with the: edge turned over and Yt'elted in to the hrnn.

or that anv felt tahriv vould he felted to another felt t'ahrie: hut Vl have discovered that hy makingthe told in the early stages ofthe sizing. this may he done. and that hy so doing. a turned-edge hat may be made.

the fold yintegral with the brim as though made in one felting operation, and yet shoivedge. In all hats hitherto made. the hats ing the turned edge and obscuring the inner are Sized first and then the edge formed hy first 'folding and then running several rows ot stitvhve around the edge, the hat being t eompletely sized before the edge is put on.

My invention is also applieahle to hats, where the turned edge takes the plat-e of the binding, and forms a eleant turned edge with a desirable advantage, over the regular edge: and in stiff hats. the out edge always` shows the stitlivning. whieh appears as a white streak. sinee it must he eut after the stittenilmT has been put in the hody.

lt is well known that feltiner cannot he varried on without limit. thinner 'fahrie of larger surface than the finished productl may he made in any of the well known ways, in which the raw material may he evenly distributed over that surtaee. Then. it of sutlieient hody to hold the fold. by Stitches or otherwise. the fold may he made and the sizing rveumed: hut the `fold must he made het'ore the sizing is Complete. or else the :told will not he felted into the hody of the tab` rie as ealled for hy my invention. Butv the fold ma)r he made at any early stage in the sizing'. wherever more felting and Sizing is required sutteient to felt the fold and the hotly together to the desired extent.

What l Claim as new and desire to Seeure hy Letters Patent is felt hatv having a turned-edge which is felted into the hodvv ot' the hat.

ln witness whereof. t have hereunto set my hand and atlixed my seal, at the city, eounty and State of 1New York. this 26th day ot January. 1912. 

